Wind actuated toy musical instrument



May 24, 1960 w. HELLMAN 2,937,557

WIND ACTUATED TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Dec. 30, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

WERNER HELLMAN.

BYy

May 24, 1960 w. HELLMAN WIND ACTUATED TOY MUSICAL. INSTRUMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 30, 1957 FIG. 9.

INC-L8.

INVENTOR.

WERNER HELLMAN ATI'DRNE Y United States Patent WIND ACTUATED TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Werner Hellman, Chicago, Ill., a'sslgnor to Bar Zlm Toy lJWfg. Co., Inc., Jersey City, NJ., a corporation of New ersey Filed Dec. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 705,848

Claims. (Cl. 843'30) This invention relates to musical instruments and. more particularly, to a toy calliope.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy calliope having a self-contained whistle bank and. individual air pressure generating units for operating the whistle bank in order to produce a realistic series of musical notes resembling the sounds emitted by a full size calliope.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy calliope which is extremely simple in construction, has self-contained duct means communicating with the pressure generating devices and the whistle bank, and which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toy calliope having a whistle bank which is in the form of a completely self-contained unit that is removably supported upon the base of the toy so as to be selectively used as the whistle bank of the calliope or as an independent mouth whistle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toy wind instrument of the type described having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart hollo'w mounting means for receiving the air-pressure generating means which in this case are shown in the form of separate collapsible bulbs, so as to provide a keyboard that is adapted to be manually actuated for delivering short spurts or bursts of pressurized air to the whistle bank through the self-contained duct means.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a calliope made in accordance with the present invention, with one of the pressure generating devices removed.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, with additional elements removed to show the self-contained duct means.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the whistle bank forming a part of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an end elevational view of the whistle bank shown in Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, a calliope 10 made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a base assembly 12 that has a keyboard along one longitudinal edge thereof that includes a plurality of longitudinally 's ced apart hollow resilient bulbous members 14, each 2,937,557 Patented May 24, 1960 one of which comprises compressed air producing means that is directly connected to predetermined whistle columns 16 of a self-contained whistle bank 20.

' As is more clearly shown in Figs. 5, 8, and 9, the whistle bank 20 is a completely self-contained unit which is removably received within a whistle bank well 21 in the top of the main base member 22. Air outlet ports 24 in the base of the well 21 are in direct association with the inlet ports 25 of the whistlebank which communicate with each of the columns 16. These inlet ports 25 are disposed along the mouthpiece 26 of the whistle bank directly beneath the air vents 27 which provide the whistle tone, in a manner well known in the art.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing, it will be noted that the main base member is provided with the upwardly projecting mounting stems 29 which are of truncated conical configuration, and which have central bores 30 which provide communication between the interior of the compressible bulbous members 14 and ducts 32 which direct the flow of pressurized air to the outlet ports 24 in the whistle bank well. These ducts 32 are formed by the engagement of the ribs 36 of a bottom closure plate 35 which are engaged with the undersurface of the main base member 22 to provide the plurality of discrete ducts 32, as is mo're clearly shown in Figs. 3, 5, 6, and 7. The main base member is also provided with a plurality of depending feet 38 which properly support and position the calliope upon any suitable horizontal surface so that it does not unduly shift around during operation thereof. In order to further enhance the appearance of the device, a back drop 40 is provided along each end of the whistle bank 20, as is shown in Fig. 2. The backdrops 40 may have any suitable design thereon embossed or imprinted so as to be more attractive to children and to lend a mo're authentic and realistic appearance thereto.

In actual production, the base unit 12 may be constructed from the main base member 22 and bottom plate 35, each of which may be of molded plastic material. These parts may be readily secured together to provide the various bulbous member mounting means, air ducts, and whistle bank well. By installing the whistle bank 20 in the position shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing, it thus becomes possible to play a realistically sounding tune upon the Whistle bank by sequentially striking predetermined bulbous members 14 so as to impart a pressurized flow of air from such member through the associated duct 32 to the appropriate whistle column 16. Thus, by striking the bulbous member, a quantity of pressurized air is both produced and transmitted to the sounding device independently of each of the other bulbous members and independently of each of the other whistle columns. If desired, the whistle bank 20 may be removed from the calliope and played as a separate, instrument so as to provide additional educational entertainment and a variety of functions to the operator of the toy.

Because of its utmost simplicity, the calliope made in accordance with the present invention can be manufactured and assembled from a minimum number of parts, with a minimum number of assembly steps, whereby such toy can be mass produced and distributed at relatively low costs without sacrificing any of the authentic and realistic attributes thereof.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto. It will be understood, for instance, that instead of a whistle bank, a bank of horns or other reed instruments may be used in the same manner, with an individual conduit for each noteproducing element.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A calliope comprising, in combination, a base, a plurality of individual air-pressure generating units carried in predetermined spaced relationship upon said base, an airpressure responsive whistle bank having a plurality of whistle columns carried upon said base, and a separate duct means connecting each one of said air-pressure generating units to a particular whistle column of said whistle bank, said air-pressure generating units each comprising a resilient collapsible hollow bulb, said base having a plurality of mounting means for receiving individual ones of said bulbs, and each one of said mounting means providing communication between the interior of said associated bulb and said respective duct means.

2. A calliope comprising, in combination, a base, a plurality of individual air-pressure generating units carried in predetermined spaced relationship upon said base, an airpr-sssure responsive whistle bank having a plurality of whistle columns carried upon said base, and a separate duct means connecting each one of said air-pressure generating units to a particular whistle column of said Whistle bank, said air-pressure generating units each comprising resilient collapsible hollow bulbs, said base having a plurality of upwardly projecting mounting stems for receiving individual ones of said bulbs, and each one of said stems having a central bore in communication with the interior of said associated bulb and said respective duct means, said whistle bank comprising a self-contained unit having discrete air inlet ports for said whistle columns at one end, and said base including a well for removably receiving said one end of said whistle bank, said well having a plurality of discrete air outlet ports, a different one of which communicates with each of said discrete air inlet ports and with said duct means for supplying pressurized air to said whistle columns.

3. A calliope as set forth in claim 2, wherein said duct means comprise individual passageways defined by said base extending between said respective bulb mounting stems and said air outlet ports of said well.

4. A calliope as set forth in claim 3, wherein said base comprises a main base member having stationary supporting feet, said mounting stems projecting upwardly from said member, and said well opening upwardly therefrom.

5. A calliope as set forth in claim 4, wherein said individual passageways comprise a plurality of ribs defining individual grooves secured beneath said main base memher, said ribs being engaged with said undersurface of said main base member, and said grooves being aligned with predetermined ones of said mounting stem bores and said air outlet ports for supplying air to said whistle columns in response to compression of said bulbs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,627,467 Sparlin May 3, 1927 2,167,582 McCord July 25, 1939 2,754,714 Folsom July 17, 1956 OTHER REFERENCES Six Nights in a Madhouse, American Magazine, July 1949, vol. CXLVIII number 1, pages 22 and 23, and 119422. Only page 23 relied upon. 

